Will Allen Dromgoole
Will Allen Dromgoole (October 26, 1860 - September 1, 1934) was an American poet and prose author. She wrote over 7,500 poems and 5,000 essays, and published 13 books. Life Family, youth, education Dromgoole was the youngest of 6 children born to Rebecca Mildred (Blanche) and John Easter Dromgoole in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.Kathy Lyday-Lee, "Will Allen Dromgoole", Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture], accessed 20 Jun 2010 Her paternal grandparents were Rev. Thomas and Mary Dromgoole. Her great-grandparents were Edward Dromgoole, a Scots-Irish trader from Sligo, Ireland, and his Cherokee wife Rebecca (Walton). Dromgoole's parents sent her to the Clarksville Female Academy, where she graduated in 1876. She studied law with her father, but women were not allowed to become lawyers. She was appointed as staff to the state legislature, where she started working in 1883. Career Dromgoole was a prolific writer, publishing both prose and poetry. She was also a journalist for the Nashville American, a newspaper based in the Middle Tennessee city. She wrote more than 7,500 poems, among them "The Bridge Builder". In addition, Dromgoole wrote 5,000 articles or essays, and published thirteen books, including a novel about the Melungeons (at the time she referred to them as Malungeons, one of numerous spelling variations on the name.) She first published a story in Youth's Companion in 1887. It was about the Tennessee governor, Bob Taylor. She had a best-selling novel in 1911, The Island of the Beautiful. Dromgoole taught school in Tennessee for a year, and for another year in Temple, Texas. There she founded the Waco Women's Press Club. During World War I, Dromgoole was a warrant officer in the United States Naval Reserve. She lectured to sailors on patriotic topics. Dromgoole wrote a series of articles on the Southeastern ethnic group known as the Melungeons, published in the Nashville Daily American (1890) and the Boston Arena (1891)."Will Allen Dromgoole", Historical Melungeons This historically mixed-race group was then living mostly in southeastern Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Her derogatory comments about them, while based more on hearsay than fact, expressed the biases about mountain people typical of her society and the period in which she was writing.[http://www.freeafricanamericans.com Paul Heinegg, Free African Americans in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Delaware], 2005 Recognition Dromgoole was appointed poet laureate of the Poetry Society of the South in 1930.Will Allen Dromgoole 1871-1934, Poetry Foundation, Web, Sep. 7, 2012. Her poem "The Bridge Builder" was often reprinted, and remains quite popular. An excerpt appears on a plaque at the Bellows Falls, Vermont, Vilas Bridge, spanning the Connecticut River between southern Vermont and New Hampshire."Vilas Bridge", webpage The poem is also frequently quoted in a religious context or in writings stressing a moral lesson. It has become a favorite of motivational speakers. Publications Novels *''The Sunny Side of the Cumberland: A story of the Mountains'' (as "Will Allen"). Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1886. *''The Valley Path. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1898. *A Moonshiner's Son. Philadelphia: Penn Publishing, 1898. *''The Battle on Stone River (1899) *''The Island of Beautiful Things: A romance of the South''. Boston: L.C. Page, 1912; London: Sir Isaac Pitman, 1912. Short fiction *''The Heart of Old Hickory, and other stories of Tennessee. Boston: L.C. Page, 1895. *Cinch, and other stories: Tales of Tennessee. Boston: Dana, Estes, 1898. Non-fiction "The Malungeons," ''The Arena Volume III (March 1891), 470-479. *''The Malungeon Tree and its Four Branches," The Arena Volumme III (May 1891), 745-751.'' Juvenile *''The Farrier's Dog and His Fellow. Boston: L.C. Page, 1897. *''The Fortunes of the Fellow: A companion book to "The farrier's dog and his fellow". Boston: L.C. Page, 1898. *''Three Little Crackers from Down in Dixie''. Boston: L.C. Page, 1898. *''Hero Chums''. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1898. *''A Boy's Battle''. Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1898. *''Rare Old Chums. Boston: Dana Estes, 1898. *Harum-Scarum Joe. Boston: Dana Estes, 1899. *''The Best of Friends: A companion book to "The farrier's dog and his fellow" and "The fortunes of the fellow". Boston: L.C. Page, 1904. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = Will Dromgoole, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 5, 2013. See also * List of U.S. poets References External links ;Poems * Will Allen Dromgoole at the Poetry Foundation. * Will Allen Dromgoole at PoemHunter (1 poem) ;Books *Will Allen Dromgoole at Amazon.com ;About *Will Allen Dromgoole in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture *Will Allen Dromgoole biography, Our Melungeons *Will Allen Dromgoole in Yesteryear Once More. Category:1860 births Category:1934 deaths Category:American poets Category:American essayists Category:Writers from Tennessee Category:19th-century poets Category:19th-century women writers Category:American women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets